Pg. 69: Keith Hollihan's "The Four Stages of Cruelty"

A female corrections officer works with a young male inmate to uncover a criminal organization that has taken control of a maximum security prison

Ditmarsh Penitentiary holds many secrets within its walls, and the inmates aren’t the only ones who keep them. Given absolute authority, the guards often slip across the divide from law enforcement to criminality.

Officer Kali Williams tries her best to stay on the right side of the law. Then she meets an inmate named Joshua who claims that another prisoner has drawn an elaborate comic book that holds a guide to Ditmarsh’s criminal underworld. At first Kali can’t take it seriously. But soon after, the artistinmate disappears completely.

Intense and arresting, The Four Stages of Cruelty is a powerful debut for fans of Umberto Eco and Carlos Ruiz Zafón.